The vote was closer to party-line than initially expected. The House GOP caucus only lost a few of their most liberal members. This is good news for opponents of the Foreign Workforce bill, as they appear to have the votes to sustain a potential veto of the law. If every House member were to vote, 101 votes would be required to overturn Gov. LePage veto. Meaning open-border politicians would need to add an additional 14 votes, assuming Gov. LePage utilizes his veto pen.

LD 1492 would provide more than $500,000 in taxpayer funds yearly to English language learning programs. Mainers already pay $19-Million annually in English-As-A-Second-Language funding with little to no results to show for the investment.

Previous incarnations of the bill included the creation of a cabinet-level, Office of New Mainers, and the construction and staffing of a Foreign Welcome Center in Lewiston. However, an outcry from Maine-First advocates and pressure from groups like Maine First Project led to the bill being scaled down.

Maine First Media will continue to follow developments on the Foreign Workplace bill.